Greg Johnson | NCAA.com | October 19, 2016

Steve Shaw named NCAA football secretary-rules editor

The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel on Monday approved a recommendation to name Steve Shaw the NCAA secretary-rules editor for football.

Shaw, the coordinator of officials for the Southeastern Conference since 2011 and the Sun Belt Conference since 2014, will start a four-year term Sept. 1, 2017. Shaw will succeed Rogers Redding, whose term expires in August.

“I have a strong passion for the NCAA football playing rules, and I am honored to lead our rules-making process into a very exciting future,” Shaw said. “This future will certainly contain many challenges, but I believe that our game builds strong character and develops future leaders of America and, therefore, must be protected and enhanced. In addition, our game also must evolve into our new world, and the lens of player safety must be the key focus in all that we do.”

Shaw was considered one of the top referees in the sport before he was named coordinator of football officials in the SEC. He worked 21 years on the field as an NCAA football referee, including 15 in the SEC and six at the Division II level.

Shaw worked the BCS championship game in 2000, when Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University played Florida State University, and also in 2005 when the University of Southern California played the University of Oklahoma.

Shaw worked six other BCS bowl games as well, including three Rose Bowls (2003, 2009, 2011), two Fiesta Bowls (2006, 2008) and the 2010 Orange Bowl. He also officiated four SEC Championship Games in 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2006.

Shaw also has contributed to college football off the field. He has been the chair of the Collegiate Commissioners Association National Mechanics Committee since 2011. In that role, his committee modernized and completely rewrote the CCA manual; introduced the first set of mechanics for an eight-man officiating crew; and repurposed the manual for all officials to receive eight-, seven- and six-man mechanics in one manual.

Shaw also has advocated for advancing the technology used in officiating.

He has helped lead enhancements in the use of video to evaluate and develop officials and has pioneered a wireless crew communications system now used by most Football Bowl Subdivision conferences and the NFL. He currently is developing a centralized collaborative instant replay system for the SEC.

“Steve Shaw is an excellent choice,” Redding said. “He has demonstrated over the years a good knowledge of the rules and will be an effective addition to the rules-making process.”

Shaw has served on the NCAA Football Rules Editorial Subcommittee since 2013. He also has served four years on the board of directors for the National Association of Sports Officials, including a stint as chairman in 2011-12.

“Steve Shaw is a proven and respected leader in college football and has the skills and abilities to excel as secretary-rule editor,” said Bob Nielson, chair of the NCAA Football Rules Committee and coach at the University of South Dakota. “He has a tremendous understanding of the current issues and trends in our sport that will serve him well in this position. We are excited to have Steve in this role.”